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April 28, 2006
Considering the death and life of Jane Jacobs
Power Plays, (NYC political blog of The Village Voice) The Death and Life of Jane Jacobs
Jarred Murphy explores the influence of Jane Jacob's book, "The Death and Life of Great American Cities."
But for many city fans, reading the "Death and Life of Great American Cities" offered not just an engaging academic argument. More than that, her book gave shape to the philosophical, even spiritual idea that within the "irrationality and chaos of cities" there was a logic—or perhaps a soul—guiding all those disparate, conflicting forces toward something good.
The NY Times, BLOCKS: All in the Planning, and Worth Preserving
David Dunlap lines up some quotes from urban planning experts speaking about Jane Jacobs influence.
Downtown Express, The life and death of Jane Jacobs
Downtown Express gives credit to Jane Jacobs for preserving the very neighborhoods the downtown weekly paper covers and suggests her legacy goes beyond the individual fights she waged:
Not every one of those principles is always right and not every community fight is good, but the idea that people are the most important part of urban planning, that they can improve or stop plans if they are smart and organized, that government officials must have true consultations with neighbors – that idea lives and Jane Jacobs is a big reason why.
Posted by lumi at April 28, 2006 6:49 AM